3 ms·

Notes from The Valley: The real social network

17 points by antgoldbloom 14y ago

jeromesalimao 14y ago
Guess I should just go out and buy a ticket hey...
michaelochurch 14y ago
This is yet another thing I hate about the brogrammer culture of VC-istan: the idea that if you can't get an introduction to that person specifically, you're garbage. Perhaps that applies to upper-middle-class males who were in Silicon Valley since they were in junior high school. But there are a lot of good people-- 40-year-old programmers who spent their career-building years Milwaukee for family reasons, but who studied on their own and became really good-- who end up at front doors because it's all they have. It's not fair to assume that he's an idiot and a loser just because he's at a front door. You need social proof to get around all the purple squirrel requirements. A company that mandates 5 years of experience in a 3-year-old technology won't be able to hire outside of its immediate social network... which is sometimes fine, and sometimes crippling.
- bbaker 14y ago
  ...sorry, it's hard to hear you through that massive chip on your shoulder.
  - deleted 14y ago
    [deleted]
- Aloisius 14y ago
  Getting an introduction to a VC requires a relatively small amount of networking. You show up at any one of the tech networking events that are constantly being hosted and cultivate a relationship with someone who can connect you. Once you meet with one, most VCs will be happy to make more introductions. It is the same kind of networking you'll probably need to find a good team, get early customers and generally be successful in most startups. I'm sorry you think it is stupid. The rest of us who are not natural networkers (even those of us who grew up here) just buckled down and learned how to do it.
  - michaelochurch 14y ago
    I'm sorry you think it is stupid. That's not what I was trying to say. I think that for people like us, it's not a major barrier. We can "buckle down" and meet people. I'm just irked by the implicit assumption that others who don't have the resources or knowledge are somehow inferior. It's the "everyone should be exactly like me" attitude of the unknowing privileged that makes VC-istan so irritating.
  - antgoldbloom 14y ago
    Well said. In order to get something off the ground, you've got to be both a hacker and a hustler.
rbn 14y ago
If you have a shitty product, it doesn't matter if you hang out with Arrington, Kevin Rose, Paul Graham. your product will still suck. Yet if you build a great product with real users/customers everyone will flock towards you.
joonix 14y ago
As advanced as we think we are a species, tribalism still reigns over much of our behavior.
ardit33 14y ago
"Submitting a resumé to a website is about as useful as throwing a coin into a wishing well." Not true if you are experienced, (and an engineer). The above is true only if your resume is not interesting. ie. 1. You don't have any position on interesting companies on your resume that are known for good technical talent. 2. You don't have any significant products, or side projects to show. 3. The company is not looking for somebody like you right now. If you have shown to ship products (and good ones), then you always get a call back. Most startups do actually check and screen inbound resumes.
- jamescham 14y ago
  ardit33 is right. My experience is that most successful startups are so hungry for talent that they really don't care where you come from or who you know.

17 points by antgoldbloom 14y ago

Guess I should just go out and buy a ticket hey...

This is yet another thing I hate about the brogrammer culture of VC-istan: the idea that if you can't get an introduction to that person specifically, you're garbage. Perhaps that applies to upper-middle-class males who were in Silicon Valley since they were in junior high school. But there are a lot of good people-- 40-year-old programmers who spent their career-building years Milwaukee for family reasons, but who studied on their own and became really good-- who end up at front doors because it's all they have. It's not fair to assume that he's an idiot and a loser just because he's at a front door. You need social proof to get around all the purple squirrel requirements. A company that mandates 5 years of experience in a 3-year-old technology won't be able to hire outside of its immediate social network... which is sometimes fine, and sometimes crippling.

bbaker 14y ago
...sorry, it's hard to hear you through that massive chip on your shoulder.
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
Aloisius 14y ago
Getting an introduction to a VC requires a relatively small amount of networking. You show up at any one of the tech networking events that are constantly being hosted and cultivate a relationship with someone who can connect you. Once you meet with one, most VCs will be happy to make more introductions. It is the same kind of networking you'll probably need to find a good team, get early customers and generally be successful in most startups. I'm sorry you think it is stupid. The rest of us who are not natural networkers (even those of us who grew up here) just buckled down and learned how to do it.
- michaelochurch 14y ago
  I'm sorry you think it is stupid. That's not what I was trying to say. I think that for people like us, it's not a major barrier. We can "buckle down" and meet people. I'm just irked by the implicit assumption that others who don't have the resources or knowledge are somehow inferior. It's the "everyone should be exactly like me" attitude of the unknowing privileged that makes VC-istan so irritating.
- antgoldbloom 14y ago
  Well said. In order to get something off the ground, you've got to be both a hacker and a hustler.

rbn 14y ago

If you have a shitty product, it doesn't matter if you hang out with Arrington, Kevin Rose, Paul Graham. your product will still suck. Yet if you build a great product with real users/customers everyone will flock towards you.

joonix 14y ago

As advanced as we think we are a species, tribalism still reigns over much of our behavior.

ardit33 14y ago

"Submitting a resumé to a website is about as useful as throwing a coin into a wishing well." Not true if you are experienced, (and an engineer). The above is true only if your resume is not interesting. ie. 1. You don't have any position on interesting companies on your resume that are known for good technical talent. 2. You don't have any significant products, or side projects to show. 3. The company is not looking for somebody like you right now. If you have shown to ship products (and good ones), then you always get a call back. Most startups do actually check and screen inbound resumes.

jamescham 14y ago
ardit33 is right. My experience is that most successful startups are so hungry for talent that they really don't care where you come from or who you know.